The Mystic Falls Crew
by Miss Milly
Summary: Leverage!AU This is a series of four ficlets (ranging from 800-2.7k words) that serve as a sort of prequel to the tvd leverage au I've been working on over on tumblr. They go through how the whole team meets Bonnie as well as the first job they run together and how they end up with the name of the Mystic Falls Crew. A sprinkle of Bamon and Forwood. AU to be posted this summer!
1. Spring Break

**this is a series of four ficlets (ranging from 800-2.7k words) that serve as a sort of prequel to the tvd leverage au i've been working on over on my tumblr (my url is nemily if you want to follow for more updates/other posts, I tag all of it _tvd leverage au_ on my blog) the ficlets go through how the whole team meets grifter!bonnie as well as the first job they run together and how they end up with the name the Mystic Falls Crew**

 **I'm posting them all at once, so sit tight!**

* * *

Bonnie leaned against the resort's tiki bar eyeing the still drunk college students who clearly just rolled out of bed after last night's antics, now indulging in midafternoon cocktails to start their day. Douchebros with beers by the pool, bubbly girls sipping slushy drinks in the hot tub, and sloppy classmates laughing loudly draped themselves all over each other, faces red from sun and alcohol, surrounded her.

Perfect.

The exclusive resort wasn't easy to get into, requiring membership from the world's wealthy and elite. Membership she obtained through her new pal, Jared. Sweet, trusting, _rich_ pal, Jared Carlisle. With parents worth just over a billion and older siblings who far surpassed him in talent, Jared was an easy target. He practically _begged_ her to join him in Mexico over Spring Break.

Too bad he couldn't make it himself. Something about an unfortunate run in with airport security while she boarded their flight. The extra room his empty seat afforded her was nice, though.

And now, here she was. A free ticket to be right in the midst of Jared's equally rich peers on day three of a heat-, drug- and alcohol-fueled bender.

And, boy, had these drunk idiots been good to her.

It was all too easy running into drunk girls in the bathroom, falling all over themselves to let Bonnie keep their diamond encrusted jewelry because it just looked _so good on her Tiffany!_ and sending her on her way amid a chorus of "I love you!"s. The guys took a little more time to work, to make it seem like wiring Bonnie a couple grand because she'd "lost" her ticket home was _their_ idea, but their drunken sense of chivalry and complete lack of knowledge on what things _actually_ cost in the real world padded her account enough she could sleep on the damn thing.

The movement from a swinging blonde ponytail drew Bonnie's attention. The small, bikini clad girl flitted from group to group, drunkenly draped herself over the apparent strangers, loudly declaring how much she _loved_ her new friends. Bonnie wondered if she could convinced the girl to hand over her platinum earrings.

As if she heard her thoughts broadcasting across the bar, the girl zeroed in on Bonnie, leaning against it beside her.

"You're _beautiful_ ," she slurred, and Bonnie decided that she was pretty certain she'd have those earrings in her hands within the next five minutes. The girl tried to hop up on the barstool, but promptly lost her balance and used Bonnie to brace herself, laughing loudly into her shoulder.

A red flag popped up.

The girl looked up at Bonnie, a playful grin adorning her pink lips that were _far_ too close, and brushed her nose against Bonnie's as she straightened. It was then Bonnie felt a deft hand slip into the back pocket of her shorts, and she wrapped her fingers around the girl's wrist, holding it up between their faces to reveal she'd stolen her-

Nothing.

The hand was empty.

A dangerous glint flashed through the girl's eyes, and Bonnie raised a suspicious eyebrow, prompting the thief to reveal the small wad of cash previously housed in Bonnie's back pocket in her other hand.

"Busted," she said, the playful smile still dancing on her lips, entirely unconcerned she'd been caught. "I was wondering if you'd notice."

The girl took Bonnie's silence as an invitation to continue.

"I've been watching you for a few days. It's _so_ lucky there are so many generous boys here stepping up to help get poor little ol' you home." Her eyes twinkled mischievously and Bonnie felt a smile tugging at the corner of her mouth. She let go of the girl's wrist. "So are you ever going to say anything or are you still sizing me up?" she asked impatiently.

Bonnie crossed an arm across her chest and held out her open palm expectantly. The girl reluctantly returned the folded bills she'd just swiped.

"Drunk girl hugs. Clever," Bonnie said, mildly impressed, flipping through to make sure the money was all there before shoving it back into her pocket.

The girl leaned against the bar beside Bonnie, facing the ever growing thrall of college students gathered to get drunk - if they weren't already - and watched with her. "Stacy," she finally said, introducing herself.

Bonnie snorted, instinctively knowing the name was fake.

"Amanda," Bonnie offered, recalling a very nice white gold ring in her hotel room's safe that used to belong to an _actual_ Amanda.

"Vicky?" The girl tried again, with a smirk.

"Danielle." Bonnie returned without missing a beat.

"Leah."

"Wendy."

"Ashley."

"Candice."

The girl paused.

"Caroline," she said simply.

Bonnie glanced over at Caroline, the hot breeze sweeping her blonde hair from her eyes. A genuine smile relaxed on the stranger's face and she took a leap.

"Bonnie." Caroline's smile grew wider, and the pair turned their attention back to the sea of rich kids just itching to unknowingly spread their wealth.

"So, Bonnie," Caroline grinned. "Which sucker are we going after next?"


	2. Catfish

Stefan's feet hit the floor. Stretching out of bed, a yawn escaped his mouth and he made his way to the kitchen. Peering into the fridge, another yawn formed, turning into a belch as he grabbed an orange soda, knocking the door shut with his elbow.

He hopped over the back of the couch and landed in his favourite butt groove. Pulling his mouse and keyboard onto his lap, Stefan booted up his computer setup, watching proudly as his excessively large screens blinked into life on the wall in front of him.

The time read _2:26pm_ and he gave himself a mental pat on the back for getting up early today.

After going through his start-of-day routine of checking his security, altering some coding to remain undetectable, and shoving a handful of the day old Cheetos he left out that night before into his mouth, Stefan contemplated whether he wanted to wire himself some cash courtesy of some unsuspecting douchelord or hack into the McDonald's servers to orchestrate the Shamrock Shake to come back mid-July.

Suddenly, a notification blinked in the centre of his screen.

Scratching his crotch, Stefan pulled the message open. It was from a dating site he'd never signed up for, announcing he had a match.

The message was blatantly fake. An abundantly cleavaged woman stared at him, claiming to have found his non existent profile and wanted to "get to know" him.

Stefan stared at the screen, squinting at the message suspiciously with pursed lips.

He wiped his cheese dust covered hand on his sweatpants and tapped out his reply quickly. Someone had clearly taken the time to target him specifically, linking this dating profile to his boarding school's alumni email address. He invited stfnlvr1846- _real subtle_ -to the cafe across the street to see who, exactly, would show up. Then he began to dig.

Across the street Bonnie and Caroline were at the same cafe, watching the loft from a table out front.

"He didn't buy it," Bonnie said, reading off her phone, fingers already tapping out a reply.

"That was the point wasn't it?" Caroline peeked over her shoulder, sipping an iced coffee. Bonnie nodded.

"You ready?" she asked.

Caroline hiked her black bag further up her shoulder with a firm nod of her head, the excitement pouring into her smile. "I always love a good air duct entrance."

Bonnie grinned and pulled a tray from the table as she stood. She tied the small apron around her waist, tucked a pencil behind her ear, and started her shift.

Exactly 53 minutes later, a freshly showered, appropriately dressed, and Cheeto dust free Stefan Salvatore waltzed into the cafe. Bonnie sent a quick text to Caroline waiting on the roof across the street and approached his table.

"Drink?" she asked, flipping open a small notebook.

He watched her carefully. "I haven't decided yet," he said pleasantly, and Bonnie nodded. As she turned away he added "Bonnie Bennett," carefully accentuating the B's.

She turned back towards Stefan as he kicked the chair out across from him inviting her to sit, and slid into it.

"Busted." She grinned and sized the stranger up, vaguely wondering how he got his hair so goddamned _floofy._ Bonnie pulled the apron off her waist and dropped it on the table.

He tilted his head slightly. "So what was the play here, lure me out on a date so the cute barista girl can step in to comfort me when I get stood up?"

Bonnie leaned back in her chair, and crossed her leg over her knee. "Something like that," she said.

"Sloppy." Stefan shook his head, unimpressed. A light blinked on his phone on the table beside him. His brows furrowed and a frown slipped onto his previously playful expression. "Oh."

"Worked on more than a few of your old classmates," Bonnie said.

"None of my classmates have the same security I do," Stefan gloated, showing her the screen. Caroline had her ear pressed up against a previously hidden wall safe, fiddling with the dial. "She made it to the safe. Nice."

After a beat of her not answering, Stefan continued. "So are you gonna call off your buddy or should I? My way involves a lot more sirens."

Bonnie shot a quick text to Caroline as Stefan watched his security camera through his phone. Satisfied she was gone, he put it away. "I like it, by the way," he said. "Combing through lists of rich boarding school alum. I'm not surprised it worked on some of the members of my graduating class."

" _I'm_ surprised you just threatened to call the police," Bonnie said, eyeing her newly manicured nails. "Considering the contents of that wall safe."

"And what would you know about the contents of my safe?" Stefan asked casually, but his eyes narrowed suspiciously.

Bonnie shrugged. "Oh, nothing. But _she_ might have an idea," she said, as Caroline appeared at his shoulder.

She flipped open a red folder.

"Real interesting read," she said, perusing its contents. Stefan made to grab it but Caroline snapped it shut with a grin.

Stefan leaned forwards. "Fine. You have my attention. How much?"

"Oh we're not here for _money_ ," Bonnie said, a grin settling on her lips as their plan came together. Caroline pulled a chair up beside her and plopped down happily.

"We saw your name on the alumni list, and we wanted to see if the apple fell far from the tree," Caroline said.

"Meaning?" Stefan leaned back against his chair rigidly.

Caroline leaned forward, an intimidating smile on her lips. "Meaning we wanted to know if Giuseppe Salvatore's kid was in the family business."

Stefan pursed his lips together. "Oh, I don't know, _Forbes_ , I could ask you the same thing. How's Special Agent Liz doing these days?"

Caroline backed off, shrinking at her mother's name.

"I don't know what you've heard, but I haven't seen him since he was arrested by your mom." Stefan looked pointedly at Caroline. "Died in custody three years ago, I have no ties to the guy. Or _any_ of my family."

"We're aware," Caroline said stiffly. "We wanted to see what you were capable of."

"And we wanted _you_ to see what _we_ ' _re_ capable of. We think a friendship could be… mutually beneficial," Bonnie said, twirling the pencil between her fingers.

"ID's, secure lines to wire our money, help with profiling-" Caroline listed.

"All for a cut, of course," Bonnie assured him before the words were on his tongue.

Stefan considered their offer for a moment.

"One condition," he said. " _I_ get to pick the marks. No one who doesn't deserve to get cleaned out."

Bonnie and Caroline exchanged glances, silently coming to a decision. Looking back across the table, Bonnie said "Deal. Who's first?"


	3. Stitches

**this ficlet is what really sets up the premise for the au, as well as introduces us to our beefy af hitter lol**

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Bleary eyed, Bonnie rolled out of bed, pulling on a house coat over her pajamas. The stillness of the early morning was aggressively interrupted by the continuous banging on her door. Her phone read 3:04am. 3:04am, 7 missed calls, and 15 text messages.

Peering through the peephole, Bonnie frowned and pulled the door open to find Stefan with a strange man draped over his shoulders, barely conscious.

"How do you even know where I live? We're not this kind of friends," she said, as he brushed past her, laying the stranger down on her couch.

"Tyler, stay with me," he said, holding his friend's eyes open. Bonnie knelt down beside them.

"What happened?" she asked. Stefan ran an anxious hand through his hair and shrugged.

"I don't… I don't know. I found him on my doorstep. I thought he was dead."

Bonnie eyed the bloodied man occupying her couch.

"Call Caroline," she instructed, and Stefan looked up at her with eyes simultaneously hopeful and hopeless. "Call her," Bonnie repeated.

"Can you help?"

"I don't know, I'm not a doctor _,_ Stefan. This is out of my depth."

He pulled his phone out and backed away from the couch. Bonnie moved closer to the stranger's head. "Tyler, right?" she asked him.

He didn't respond.

"Shit," she swore under her breath. "He needs real medical attention," Bonnie reiterated as Stefan watched nervously.

He shook his head vigorously. "No."

"Stefan-"

" _No_. He's been working with some big players who, by the looks of it, want him dead. I'm not sending him to the hospital to be totally helpless."

"He's helpless _here_."

"I took care of the building's security cameras. A hospital is too much with no notice, even for me. Caroline. Hi," he said into his phone, pacing the length of the loft.

A resigned sigh slipped past Bonnie's lips and she turned her attention back to Tyler. He didn't look good. His right eye was purple and swollen, his cheeks bruised with open cuts, and dried blood that had slipped from the corner of his mouth.

Tentatively, she reached for his face and gently parted his eyelids to check his pupils. For what, Bonnie wasn't exactly sure, but she saw it done on TV a lot and felt helpless doing nothing.

Suddenly his eyes shot open on their own accord and his irises jumped around frantically, searching for something familiar. Before she could move, Tyler had pushed her off him, sending her backwards, landing on the hardwood floor. He grimaced and fell back against the couch, clutching his side and groaning.

A little shaken, Bonnie pulled herself up, hesitant to get too close again. Tyler seemed to be conscious for now. Conscious and very, very confused.

"Who the hell are you?" He winced and Stefan rushed over, ending his call with Caroline.

"What happened, man?" Stefan asked, relief seeping into his voice.

Tyler looked between the two of them as Bonnie approached the couch again warily, but he remained silent.

"Can someone tell me what's going on?" she said, shifting uncomfortably.

"Caroline's on her way," Stefan told her, and turned to Tyler. "I knew this would happen. Klaus?"

Tyler avoided eye contact and answered, "Elijah."

"And?"

"Just him."

"I told you not to get involved with that family." The level of frustration that seeped into his voice was one Bonnie had never heard before.

"Yeah. You would know."

"I would," Stefan said.

An uneasy silence fell between them before Tyler quietly mumbled. "Thank you. For helping me anyway."

"I'm glad you're okay," Stefan sighed, placing a hand on Tyler's shoulder.

"I'm sorry to interrupt this bro moment, but I just wanted to make sure I heard you right. First, Klaus and Elijah. You mean Klaus and Elijah _Mikaelson_? How are you even alive right now?" She asked Tyler, but turned towards Stefan before he could answer. "Second, Stefan, did you just tell me that you gave my address to a known thief?"

Stefan shrugged. "She already knew. Come on Bonnie, the place is in your own name. Of course we found it. Sloppy _,_ " he admonished.

"Yeah, of course I did. This is my _real home_. My other places are for work."

"Found those too." Stefan said. "It's fine. I'll change the building's records, no one will be able to find you." He waved away her concern.

"Now I have to move," she grumbled. Which was a shame, Bonnie loved her loft. Exposed brick, perfect kitchen, and a landlord who didn't ask questions when she installed the wall safe hidden in her closet. Although, that last perk was probably because she never ran it by him.

None of them heard when Caroline slipped in a half an hour later. Stefan sat on the floor, leaning back against the couch where Tyler lay holding a bag of ice on his eye, flipping through the channels on Bonnie's TV. Bonnie occupied the oversized chair, arms crossed, wondering if it was time to finally bail on the States and see what Monaco had to offer her.

It wasn't until Caroline pulled out the first aid kit from her backpack and leaned over the back of the couch to get a better look at Tyler did anyone notice her.

"What the _fu_ -" He did a double take and groaned from moving too fast, aggravating his injuries.

"That cut on your cheek is going to need stitches," she said, pulling out a tiny flashlight and shining it into Tyler's eyes. "I don't think you have a concussion but we'll keep an eye on it."

"Caroline, I _know_ the door was locked." Bonnie frowned, uncomfortable with the ease both of them felt crossing the boundary of professional and personal.

"Stefan said it was an emergency. It would have taken longer to knock," she said with a shrug and wiped Tyler's check with disinfectant. Caroline held up a small needle and Stefan swallowed nervously as it glinted in the light, thankful he was not the one she was about to use it on.

"Please, it wouldn't have taken that much longer for me to walk from here to the door," she said and Caroline shot her a pointed look. "Fine, point taken," Bonnie conceded, the vivid memory of Caroline picking the lock of the Swedish ambassador's hotel room with his bodyguards four steps behind them around the corner springing to mind.

Tyler grabbed Caroline's wrist gently before she could stitch up the wound on his cheek. "I'm not sure I'm in a position to ask for medical credentials, but I like my face. It's a _nice_ face."

Bonnie snorted, causing Tyler to glare over at her. "It's a little worse for wear." She shrugged.

"Don't listen to her, man. You have a beautiful face," Stefan assured him, and Tyler rolled his eyes.

"They make you get certified to coach," Caroline offered simply.

He let go of her arm. "Coach what?"

"I was a gymnast," she answered, holding Tyler's chin to keep him still.

"You're looking at a one time Olympic hopeful," Stefan said, nudging Tyler with his elbow, causing him to grimace. Without looking over at her, Stefan added, "Don't give me that look, Bonnie. What kind of professional would I be if I didn't check the backgrounds of my team?"

"We're not a team," Bonnie clarified. "You get a cut of what Care and I steal in exchange for information to prep. That's not working together. If anything you work _for_ us."

Caroline smirked over at Bonnie. "And what does that make me?"

"Occasional work associate," she responded.

"Do you think she's going to give us the 'I work alone' speech again?" Stefan grinned, looking over at Caroline with a small smile dancing on her lips. She began her stitches on Tyler, who barely winced as she worked.

"You're going to have to let us in sometime, Bonnie," Caroline said.

"Emotional ties-"

"-get you killed," Stefan and Caroline said in unison, and Bonnie rolled her eyes at them.

"I'm glad you find my ability to separate my work and personal life amusing," she grumbled.

"Admit it, Bennett, we're a team. And look! Now we've got some muscle," Stefan gestured towards Tyler, who offered a weak grin at his friend.

"Speaking of which. No offense, Tyler, you seem…" Bonnie glanced over at his battered face, at a loss for words. "... but who exactly are you?"

"He's my buddy from boarding school," Stefan said.

Bonnie mentally ran through the list of Stefan's old classmates before remembering him. "Lockwood?"

"How-"

"We were going to rob you," Caroline interrupted, tugging his final stitch and putting the needle away. "But you were out of the country. It's how we found this one." She gestured to Stefan, who shot them a goofy grin.

"And we're all the richer for it." Stefan stretched his arms behind his head and leaned back against his interlocked hands. "And our _team_ will get even richer with Tyler's help."

Bonnie rolled her eyes. "The only thing I know about this guy is he used to work for the Mikaelsons. That doesn't exactly bode well for trust."

Caroline's eyes flashed at the Mikaelson family name.

"Tyler's solid," Stefan insisted.

"Says the hacker son of a nefarious jewelry thief."

The grin disappeared from his face. "Do you trust me?"

"No," Bonnie answered without hesitation and tossed the pillow she had been sitting on at his head.

Aghast, Stefan looked between Bonnie and Caroline, who just shrugged. "I wouldn't share my darkest secrets with you, but I trust you to have my back," Caroline said. Satisfied with her answer, he leaned back into the couch.

"It's cool, I already dug up your darkest secrets," Stefan teased, and Caroline shot him a look.

Bonnie yawned, eyeing the occupants of her loft uneasily. Tyler was in no condition to be moved and Stefan wasn't about to leave his side, but her bed called to her.

"You can sleep," Caroline said quietly. "I'll keep an eye on things."

She bit her lip nervously.

"Okay," Bonnie agreed warily and Caroline smiled.

Taking one last look over the railing at her unwanted guests, Bonnie collapsed on her bed, lulled to sleep by Stefan's loud snores from below.

They were still there when she woke the next morning, but to her relief, they left that afternoon and she basked in her solitude. Until they inexplicably returned the next day. And again the day after that. And suddenly, it was three weeks later and her happy little bubble of a loft turned into the apartment from Friends.

Arms full of groceries, Bonnie unlocked her door, pushing it open with her back. Groaning internally at the sight of Stefan watching Food Network on her couch and Tyler and Caroline using the loft's beams to do chin ups, she kicked the door shut.

"I changed the locks," she called to them, dropping the bags on the kitchen counter.

Tyler jumped down from the beam and held up his hands innocently. "Stefan cut me a key," he said.

"I came in through the fire escape." Caroline wrapped her legs around the bar, swinging upside down.

Bonnie hoped the look on her face fully conveyed how unimpressed with them she was, since her words sure as hell hadn't. She began to put her groceries away when Stefan's head shot around at the telltale sound of a Cheeto bag.

"You love us here," he taunted, grinning. Stefan hopped over the back of the couch and pulled the bag from her hand gleefully.

She rolled her eyes. "Not true. You haven't stopped complaining since you got here and I imagine this is the only way to shut you up."

Bringing the first glorious, neon orange Cheeto to his mouth, Stefan watched, as if in slow motion, as Tyler slapped it out of his hand and confiscated the bag.

"You promised," Tyler said, disappointment etched into his features.

Stefan was horrified. "But-"

"You said you'd help me recover," Tyler reminded him.

"Yeah, but-"

"You said you wanted to be on this journey with me."

"I know, but I-"

"You said the word solidarity at _least_ fifty times."

"Ooh, Stefan, you did. I was here for that conversation," Caroline said, dropping from the beam and joining Bonnie in the kitchen. Bonnie silently handed Caroline a new box of the green tea that she liked, and the blonde smiled gratefully and filled the kettle.

"Wait _,_ I wasn't here for that. How often are you people in my home without me?" Bonnie asked incredulously.

Tossing the Cheetos onto the counter, Tyler crossed his arms intimidatingly. "Do some chin ups with me, then we'll talk about ingesting chemical garbage."

Stefan stared at the bag longingly with hopeless eyes. He dragged his feet and reached for the beam, struggling to lift his chin over the bar and Tyler hopped up beside him, pulling himself up with ease. Caroline joined them happily while the water boiled. Before long, Stefan sat on the couch pouting as Tyler and Caroline competed to see who could last longer.

Bonnie watched from the kitchen, berating herself for letting these clowns into her life.

The kettle whistled. Bonnie poured the tea into three mugs and some Mountain Dew in the fourth for Stefan, to Tyler's absolute horror.

As she sat on the couch beside him, an uneasy quiet fell over the loft. "What's going on?" Bonnie asked warily. The other three exchanged looks and Bonnie narrowed her eyes. This couldn't be good. "Caroline?"

Caroline shifted uncomfortably on the other side of her. "This is really Stefan's thing."

Stefan jumped up from the couch, rubbing his hands together, with Tyler standing just behind him sipping his tea.

"I have a job for us," he said.

Bonnie looked around at the others, taking in their serious expressions. "Isn't that supposed to be a good thing?"

"It is," Caroline assured her quickly.

She pursed her lips. "Explain yourself," Bonnie told Stefan.

He hesitated briefly. "The White Oak Diamond."

"No." Bonnie shook her head. "You can't be serious."

"Just hear him out," Caroline urged, a dangerous sparkle flashing in her eyes.

"What's to hear out? Half the world believes it doesn't even exist and those that do aren't stupid enough to go after it. Except you, apparently," she said, and turned towards Tyler. "You barely escaped the Mikaelsons with your life last time, why are you targeting their most prized possession? Do you have some sort of death wish? "

Tyler shrugged. "It wasn't my idea. But I'm on board with anything that will hurt them."

Bewildered, Bonnie looked at Caroline. "Don't tell me you're in on this too."

"This diamond is _the_ diamond," she said softly, eyes glittering.

"Why?" Bonnie asked Stefan aggressively. "This is going to get all of you killed."

"Not if we have your help," he responded. "I have a plan."

"I'm not getting killed over this, it's so out of our league." She shook her head again. "No. Out of the question."

"They know Tyler and Caroline's mom has been trying to take them out for decades. We need a grifter. We need _you_ ," Stefan looked at her hopefully, brows furrowing together awaiting her response.

Bonnie looked between them, a shared determination spread across their faces. They were doing this with or without her. And they were going to get themselves killed.

"Do you trust me?" Stefan asked her quietly.

Worry tugged at her stomach. "The minute I feel like we're in over our heads we walk away."

A smile spread across Caroline's face and relief flooded Stefan's posture.

"Say it," Bonnie pressed. "Say you'll walk away if I tell you to."

"We'll walk away," Stefan said quickly.

"And we need to do other jobs first. We need to see if we can even work well together," she added to her conditions. "As a team."

"A team?" Stefan's eyes brightened, visibly pleased at her word choice.

"Yes," she conceded.

Tyler gave her a gruff nod. "Sounds fair."

Caroline agreed.

"So," Bonnie leaned back against the couch. "Who's our in? We can't use Tyler."

Stefan dropped an open folder profiling their mark on the coffee table. A picture depicting a smirking, dark haired man was paperclipped in front of a bunch of documents.

Bonnie leaned forward and pulled it from the folder, studying him. God, his face looked so punchable.

As she raised her eyes from the photo, Stefan answered.

"Damon Salvatore."


	4. The Mystic Falls Job

**Thank you so much for reading! Follow my tumblr (nemily) for more updates, graphics, etc. about the fic, which I aim to post early this summer!**

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Bonnie had the last button of her crisp, white blouse done up before Stefan barged into the hotel bathroom without knocking.

"Ready for your first day at work?" he asked playfully.

She shot him a look in the mirror before answering. "Almost."

"Allow me," he offered, grabbing the tie from the counter and faced her towards him, tugging at her collar. Bonnie rolled her eyes.

"It's a clip on."

"And I," Stefan said, attaching the small black tie to her shirt, "am a gentleman." He took a step back and admired his handiwork while Bonnie raised a silent eyebrow at his antics. Satisfied, Stefan clapped his hands on her shoulders and frowned at her expression. "What? No 'thank you'? You need to work on your etiquette if you want to make it in the service industry."

"I can deal with the industry just fine," she said, adjusting her tie slightly in the mirror. "You, on the other hand…"

"Don't hate," Stefan said lightly, hopping up on the counter, swinging his legs and watching her. "Look, if you can learn how to crack a safe in the next thirty minutes you are more than welcome to be Tyler's date to the shindig tonight. But somebody's gotta do recon, and you, my friend, have pulled the short straw."

Bonnie let out an annoyed sigh. "I know," she said and gazed longingly at the garment bag hung on the back of the bathroom door that held Caroline's dress for tonight. "When I work alone I _always_ get to be the one to dress fancy."

"You'll have plenty of time to play dress up, but today-"

"Recon. I know."

Stefan dropped a wallet with her fake ID, rental car keys, and a burner phone loaded with some of his software into her hand. He then gently placed a small ear bud on top. "We'll be in your ear the whole time. Have fun at work," he grinned, shooing her out of the hotel room they'd made their makeshift base.

The Fell Manor buzzed with activity. Wait staff and caterers whizzed around preparing for the fundraiser, with Mrs. Fell being followed around by a gaggle of assistants and party planners. Bonnie went entirely unnoticed, walking briskly through the Manor.

"The safe is upstairs but the floorplan doesn't indicate which room," Stefan's said through her earpiece. "Gotta do this one the old fashioned way."

"The upstairs is off limits." Bonnie looked around carefully before slipping underneath the ribbon brandishing a sign reading _No Admittance_ and jogging up the staircase. The second floor was a maze with more rooms than she could count. "This might be a problem," she whispered as she turned a corner but added a quick, "Nevermind."

A well dressed, beefy guard stood in front of a door that looked exactly like all the others except for the numerical keypad at the handle.

"You're not supposed to be up here," he said, a slight Russian accent coating his words.

"I'm sorry, I must have gotten turned around. Is this not the way to the bathroom?" Bonnie asked airily, looking around. The guard huffed and walked over, taking her firmly by the elbow and guiding her back through the hallways to the staircase. Bonnie slipped her hand into his pocket.

He pointed to the sign at the bottom of the stairs. "No entry," he said gruffly and watched Bonnie walk back down to the first floor before returning to his post.

She looked at the items she swiped from his pocket. "Some change, a mint, and a receipt

for a week's worth of Hungry Man frozen dinners," she listed to Stefan.

"Aw, sad," said his voice in her ear. "Any ID? We have to figure out a way to get him away from that door tonight."

Bonnie walked around a corner before replying to avoid drawing the attention of some of the other workers preparing the manor. "Just a card from the security company he works for. Sergei Pavlova. Can you do something with that?"

Stefan hemmed and hawed from the other side of her earpiece before answering. "Yes. But I need the Fell woman's phone. You still have the burner I gave you, right?" he asked, and proceeded to list a few instructions.

"On it," Bonnie replied, zeroing in on the assistant gripping Mrs. Fell's smartphone as her boss dictated.

Bonnie walked over to the table with all the arrangements from the florist waiting to be placed around the venue and picked up a medium sized vase, before deliberately walking into the assistant, knocking the phone out of her hands.

"I am _so_ sorry," Bonnie apologized at the horrified look on the woman's face. Mrs. Fell turned around, eyeing them with disdain.

"Clean up this mess," she said to Bonnie, turning to her assistant and adding "Cynthia, deal with her and meet me in the ballroom when you're done." She walked away.

Bonnie slid her hand in her apron's pocket where she kept the burner and as per Stefan's instructions, successfully cloned Mrs. Fell's phone.

The assistant dug through the flowers from the arrangement and pulled it from the broken pieces of the vase. "I'm supposed to fire you but it was an honest mistake. Make yourself scarce," she warned Bonnie, before quickly walking away to catch up to her employer.

"Nice work," Stefan said. "Now go do actual work until the party, Caroline and Tyler are on their way."

Bonnie frowned down at the mess she was responsible for on the carpet, and with a resigned sigh began to tidy it up.

Tyler offered his arm to Caroline, escorting her up the steps leading to the Fell Manor. He handed the security guard the invitation that Stefan had procured for them and crossed the threshold into the party with the other guests.

"We're in," he said quietly, glancing around. Caroline deftly lifted two flutes of champagne from a server walking by, and handed one to Tyler.

"Awesome," Stefan said in their ears, adding a low voice " _We're in._ I've always wanted to say that. So badass."

Tyler and Caroline exchanged looks. "Now would be a good time for that call, Bonnie," Caroline suggested.

Bonnie slipped into an empty bathroom and dialled security guard Sergei's number from the burner phone. "Mrs. Fell, how can I help you?"

"This is Cynthia," Bonnie said, altering her voice slightly. "There's an incident at the west entrance and you're needed there right away."

"No," he told her gruffly. "I am not leaving my post."

"Do you want to be the one to explain to Mrs. Fell that you let these party crashers into her event because you couldn't be bothered to come downstairs? Because I would not want to be that person, Sergei," Bonnie eyed herself in the mirror and adjusted her clip on tie.

After a beat Sergei answered. "Fine. On my way."

Bonnie ended the call. "Alright guys, you've got ten, maybe fifteen, minutes. You ready for this?"

"Always." Caroline grinned eagerly. Tyler stood at the bottom of the stairs, watching the guests and staff for anything out of the ordinary as she walked up the steps confidently before following. No one seemed to notice.

When they arrived at the keypad, Caroline studied it carefully while Tyler kept a lookout. "The 2, 5, 6, and 8 buttons are worn. This lock model uses 4 or 5 number codes," she told Stefan.

"Already on it," he said and began listing every possible combination from his computer for her to try.

Two minutes and several wrong combinations in, Bonnie's phone started blinking, an angry red notification popping up on the screen. "We've got a problem," she said into her earpiece.

"What's wrong?" Tyler asked.

Bonnie walked briskly to the staircase just as Mrs. Fell reached the top of them. "Fell's got an alert on the door, she's on her way. Get out of there. _Now,_ " she warned.

"There's not enough time," Tyler said as Caroline input more numbers. The keypad blinked green and she turned the handle.

"Tyler, get out of there," Stefan told them anxiously.

"I've got it," Caroline said.

"She's going to find you in there," Bonnie said nervously.

"She won't," Caroline assured her. Then they went silent.

"Care? Tyler?" Bonnie asked, her heartbeat pulsing in her ears. "Stefan, I'm pulling the fire alarm."

The messy, wet sound of lips meeting filled their earpieces.

"Are they-"

"No way." Stefan started laughing.

"Sergei, what in God's name is-" Mrs. Fell rounded the corner to find Tyler and Caroline pressed up against the wall. "Oh! This area is off limits. Please rejoin the festivities downstairs," she requested with a fake smile plastered on her face.

"Right, sorry," Tyler apologized breathlessly and Caroline giggled.

"We'll be right there," she added and Mrs. Fell smiled at her stiffly, pressing a phone against her ear and turning away. "Cynthia, where the hell is Sergei?"

As soon as the host was out of sight, Tyler stepped back and Caroline smoothed out her dress before slipping into the room.

Art and sculptures sat in storage with white sheets draped over them and a large safe sat in the corner of the room. Caroline beelined for it.

"Talk to me, beautiful," she whispered, placing her ear against the door and closing her eyes as she manipulated the lock.

Tyler looked away awkwardly.

"Time's up, folks. Fell and Sergei know they've been had. Get out. For real this time," Bonnie warned in their earpieces as Caroline pulled the door open and her eyes sparkled like the jewelry the safe held.

"Just the one piece," Stefan reminded her.

Caroline pouted. "But they're all so pretty."

"And they all belong to other people. Get the necklace and vamoose," he said.

" _Fine_." She pulled the amber necklace from the safe and shut the door, spinning the lock.

Tyler nodded towards the door. "Let's go."

Sergei was waiting for them at the bottom of the stairs. "I knew it," he said, grabbing Tyler's arm. Tyler easily broke his grip and elbowed him in the face, bouncing his head against the wall. As the security guard slumped to the ground, Tyler tugged at Caroline's elbow and they were out the door.

Bonnie sat in the rental car at the circular driveway, waiting for them to climb in. "Did I hear you knock Sergei out?" she asked Tyler, speeding away from the manor.

Tyler shrugged. "Poor Sergei," Stefan said through their earpieces. "Should I send him a month's supply of frozen dinners or would that be insulting?" he asked through, what Bonnie assumed, was a mouth full of Cheetos.

"So?" Bonnie looked over at Caroline in the passenger seat as she held up the necklace. The amber crystal shaped like a diamond was set in iron and hung from a thin chain. "It doesn't look like anything special."

"It's not. At least not to us," Stefan answered. "I'm almost done at the hotel, meet you at our rendezvous."

He was waiting for them at the diner they agreed on just outside of town, halfway through a greasy grilled cheese. Caroline and Tyler joined him right away, but Bonnie hovered around the cash register, looking at the kitschy merchandise. She pulled a postcard from the wire rack and gazed down at the picture of the clock tower in the middle of town with _Welcome to Mystic Falls!_ printed on the bottom in large font. Leaving some change on counter, she brought the postcard with her to the table.

"So wait, you're telling me we're not even fencing this thing?" Caroline asked, eating fries off of Stefan's plate.

He shook his head. "It has sentimental value, we're just returning it to its rightful owners."

"Sentiment is for suckers," Bonnie said and grabbed a few fries for herself.

"Shocker, Bonnie's against feeling things." Stefan rolled his eyes. "The Fells stole the necklace for the Founder's Council exhibit. Legally there was nothing the family could do to get it back so I thought we could step in while Bonnie decides if we're going after the White Oak Diamond or not."

"I kinda like playing Robin Hood," Caroline said, evading Stefan's attempts to slap her hand away from his plate.

"I'm happy as long as I get to punch somebody," Tyler added.

Stefan frowned. "Aw, Sergei. Poor, lonely Sergei was just doing his job."

"What's that?" Caroline asked. She watched as Bonnie turned the postcard over in her hands absentmindedly.

"Do you think I should get him a cat?" Stefan asked Tyler.

"Just a postcard I picked up," Bonnie answered.

"Did you get a souvenir from our first job?" Stefan placed a hand over his heart emotionally. "'Sentiment is for suckers' my ass, you big ol' softie," he teased.

Bonnie rolled her eyes. "As if."

"Mystic Falls has a nice ring to it," Caroline said thoughtfully.

"Oo oo! Our crew needs a name," Stefan piped up, grabbing the postcard from Bonnie. "The Mystic Falls Crew," he said, gesturing in the air dramatically.

"Lame," Tyler said.

Bonnie agreed. "I second that."

"No, it's cute! And meaningful," Caroline defended and Stefan pointed at her excitedly.

"Forbes knows what's up."

Bonnie exchanged looks with Tyler, who shrugged. She held her hands up in defeat. "Fine, but you won't catch me using it."

"Yes!" Stefan said, and he high fived Caroline. "Alright MFC, rollout."

Climbing out of the booth, Stefan settled his bill and followed the others out of the diner. Bonnie hung back from a moment and stared at the postcard he'd left behind. Making sure he wasn't looking, Bonnie slipped it into her back pocket before joining them at the car for the long trip back to her apartment.


End file.
